I'm sorry I forgot to type from where I got this info.
I got it from "The Psychic Vampire Codex" Writen by Michelle Belanger. I apologise again for this.
id also like to remind frost and all new practitioners that karma is a hindu and buddhist belief, and is strictly religous and is not a required belief in magick.
same goes for the three fold law, that is a wiccan religious belief, and just like christians will tell you to fear thier belief in a hell, so too should you not fear these religious concepts unless you ARE those religions.
Oh right, ok.
Well here's the article I got it from if you're interested in reading it:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-7-Natural-Laws-of-the-Universe&id=696662
It mentions about cause and effect, which I thought was the same thing as karma, but I'm probably wrong.
unfortunately they took an actual scientific concept and watered it down big time.
the law of action and reaction (aka cause and effect) means that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
The statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the second object. The direction of the force on the first object is opposite to the direction of the force on the second object. Forces always come in pairs - equal and opposite action-reaction force pairs.
A variety of action-reaction force pairs are evident in nature. Consider the propulsion of a fish through the water. A fish uses its fins to push water backwards. But a push on the water will only serve to accelerate the water. Since forces result from mutual interactions, the water must also be pushing the fish forwards, propelling the fish through the water. The size of the force on the water equals the size of the force on the fish; the direction of the force on the water (backwards) is opposite the direction of the force on the fish (forwards). For every action, there is an equal (in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction force. Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for fish to swim.
Consider the flying motion of birds. A bird flies by use of its wings. The wings of a bird push air downwards. Since forces result from mutual interactions, the air must also be pushing the bird upwards. The size of the force on the air equals the size of the force on the bird; the direction of the force on the air (downwards) is opposite the direction of the force on the bird (upwards). For every action, there is an equal (in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction. Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for birds to fly.
Consider the motion of a car on the way to school. A car is equipped with wheels which spin backwards. As the wheels spin backwards, they grip the road and push the road backwards. Since forces result from mutual interactions, the road must also be pushing the wheels forward. The size of the force on the road equals the size of the force on the wheels (or car); the direction of the force on the road (backwards) is opposite the direction of the force on the wheels (forwards). For every action, there is an equal (in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction. Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for cars to move along a roadway surface.
so they have taken this advanced scientific concept and made it fluffy.
everytime we decide to do something it causes an effect Somewhere, we might not be able to see what the effect is, but its there. and its foolish to think that because you send negative or positive out you'll get it back, you might intend to send negative out but wind up helping someone because of it, and you might not even know.
if karma exists, its alot more complicated than, be good, and you get good, or be bad, and you get bad.
Thank you, Luzifer, for your comments regarding karma.
Although i deeply respect others with different religious and ethical beliefs from my own, i have experienced some serious finger-wagging over my personal lack of adherence to the Law of Three as it pertains to magic. This is typically as it is relates to coercive magic, magic targeting another, so-called "black" magic, love magic, money magic, making an income doing magic for others, doing magic on the unwitting, et cetera.
When i first started out, and forgive me for hijacking the thread, i did not know that other magics existed. Back then there were not whole sections in your local bookstore devoted to magic. It was all Scott Cunningham, Buckland, and Starhawk. I mistakenly thought the Law of Three was a hard and fast rule in the magic world, akin to the law of gravity. I was wrong, and it took a few years for me to find out.
Wiccans and some Neo-Pagans are the only magical practitioners worldwide who ascribe to certain instant karma beliefs and especially that magic has a sort of backlash after-effect if not delat with carefully. I'm not saying that there aren't convincing backlash stories out there. It's just that historically magic has never such repercussions attached to it.
Here are some types of magic with no Law of Three karmic prohibitions, no prohibitions on love magic, none on enemy work, none on making a living off magic, etc (please feel free to add as this is far from an inclusive list, just a quick brainstorm): Thelema, Golden Dawn, OTO, Ceremonial Magic, Enoncian Magic, Goetic, hoodoo, Voudon, Santeria, Luxumi, Candomble, Shamanism (of many ilks), Quimbanda, Palo, Curandero, Stregheria - i'm totally drawing a blank here...
Any ways, point made (maybe :-P). Historically, back in the day, magic was for the down-trodden. It was for the resourceless, the ones who could not go to the police, the ones who did not have the law on their side, folks who were oppressed, and subjugated. Folks who were enslaved and in bondage. Magic was their only recourse.
Now, magic has also been practiced in small circles by the elite, too, don't get me wrong: the Alchemists, Priests, Ceremonial Magicians, various order members, various lodge members. But until the past 50-100 years, the huge bulk of magic was what we would nowadays term as folk magic. This folk magic was often adopted, changed, and revised by the higher-ups, but us who practice magic today have a great debt to those less-fortunates who carried the torch in the form of folk magic.
And in folk magic, amongst many other systems, there are no such karmic prohibitions. You use it to keep your boss kindly to you, you use it to keep your man from leaving you and your small children, you use it to keep the slave master from beating you severely, you use it to treat chronic illnesses since you can't afford medicine.
So when someone tell me that love spells will turn your target into an obsessive, or that by cursing someone horrible things are going to return, i respect that, but it's not something i give weight too. It's just not historically accurate.
Now, a final disqualifier: i love my Wiccan and Neo-Pagan friends. The world would be a kinder and gentler place if more folks ascribed to their belief sets, for real. And don't get me wrong, if you deeply believe in your heart that your magic is going to turn on you, then it will. You will think it into being. Also, stop invoking The Law of Three at the end of all your magic spells if you wish to be rid of any apparent backlash ("By all the power of three times three, this spell bound round shall be"...) And if karmic backlash is a concern, you're best to steer clear from the sticky subjects.
I'm also not condoning going out and cursing people willy-nilly. But most of us don't need religious dogma or scary stories to keep us on the higher path. That's why many turn away from organized religious to start with.
Karma, as an Eastern religious dogmatic construct, is something that gets worked out over lifetimes and lifetimes. Very rarely is it instant or an A+B=C kind of thing. It's something we have to reincarnate into and learn from, to highly simplify it.
If you get a lot of comfort in the Law of Three, if it makes deep sense to you, then by all means let nothing shake that or discount that. It's sacred to you and that's what's important.
So my advice for newbies, research many magical systems. Learn about non-Wiccan, non-Neo-Pagan, and non-Witchcraft magics as well, because there is surely a rich buffet of choices. Then once you settle on one to study, if only for a time, you'll at least know what is out there and will speak with some authority and fewer generlizations.
